


solving the puzzle is half the fun

by marvelleous



Series: you and me, we are complete [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-05 01:15:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10294094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelleous/pseuds/marvelleous
Summary: For S.H.I.E.L.D agents working out of the Triskelion there exists a mystery that no one can quite figure out. Agent Coulson has a daughter. Logically, this means his daughter must have a mother.





	

**Author's Note:**

> last fic before my hiatus. hope you enjoy.

Committed to the cause.

 

Choosing the greater good above all else.

 

From the day they joined up to be a part of Shield, from the moment they made that decision, it had meant putting the job first.

 

It wasn't to say that agents couldn't have lives outside S.H.I.E.L.D, but those who could make it work were a rarity.

 

Which made it all the more surprising that a senior agent like Phil Coulson was able to do so.

 

* * *

 

For the new academy graduates receiving their first briefings at the Triskelion, Agent Coulson was a legend - a Level 8 field agent who was recruited and trained by Director Fury himself. They had heard tales about his bravery, how he had faced off against an alien and lived to tell the tales, how he was one of the few men the Avengers all listened to.

 

So as they wait for the man to make an entrance, they've all formed a similar image in their minds. He would be tall, very strong, with a stern expression which could rival that of Director Fury’s, who they had all met during graduation. He would likely have a no nonsense attitude, teach them all how to be completely and utterly dedicated to their careers within S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

The man that comes striding in five minutes earlier than the marked starting time looks nothing like any of them could have anticipated.

 

He is neither tall nor short, wearing a suit and drinking what appears to be coffee, from a nondescript mug.

 

He acts exactly like they had expected. Speaks with a commanding voice, issues out instructions in a tone that made you fear for your life if you were to disobey. There is no question that this is a powerful man, one whose words were not to be taken lightly.

 

And yet when he exits the room no more than an hour later, the young agents all turn to one another with puzzled expressions on their faces, no one having absorbed a single word that had been spoken by Agent Coulson.

 

They had all been distracted.

 

By the sleeping baby, strapped to the man’s chest.

 

* * *

 

For anyone who has been around long enough, it is common knowledge that Agent Coulson has a daughter.

 

Her name is Peggy, named for their founder, and she is only six weeks old the first time she visits the Triskelion.

 

Some agents joke that she's starting her training young; other’s can't quite fathom why she is a constant presence at Headquarters. Some are even a little jealous that he gets to have his kid with him at work; there were definite perks to being the Director’s favourite.

 

* * *

 

By the time little Peggy is two years old, she is up and running around, easily dodging the arms of the agents who are trying to catch her and bring her back to her father, who doesn't even bat an eyelash when they tell him she's gotten loose again.

 

She has her own little combat onesie, complete with shield logo patches on the upper arms, and even the toughest of specialists melt when they see her dashing past.

 

Her favourite person in the world aside from her father appears to be Steve Rogers, Captain America himself, which isn't all that surprising given Agent Coulson’s great admiration for the man. Whenever the Captain is around she flocks to his side, demanding to be picked up.

 

They can hear her telling him in her little high pitched voice that she's going to marry him someday, and he always indulges her, kissing her cheek and telling her that she was just like his best gal.

 

She likes the other Avengers too of course; she spends weeks crawling after Agent Barton through the vents, and likes to watch Agent Romanoff down at the firing range. The sound of gunfire actually puts her to sleep.

 

It makes people wonder how Agent Coulson gets her to sleep at night.

 

* * *

 

There have been rumours circulating since the day Agent Coulson first returned to duty with a baby carrier in one hand. He had taken a year long leave of absence and reappeared as the father to a six week old infant. Stranger things occurred all the time; but this was one mystery that every agent in the dark was determined to solve.

 

Some say that he had taken a trip to an exotic island and knocked up a local girl who made him take the baby when he left.

 

Others are still convinced that she’s the lovechild of a pair of Avengers; but aren’t entirely sure which two.

 

They’ve all tried digging, asking terribly unsubtle questions in an attempt to ascertain the identity of little Peggy Coulson’s mother, but to no avail. Evidently all the Avengers are aware, along with Director Fury and Deputy Director Hill, but they’re all much too terrifying to ask. It doesn’t help that Agent Coulson never mentions a woman in his life, he doesn’t talk about personal things even though his own daughter spends most of her time at headquarters with him. This leads to the speculation that Peggy’s mother died a tragic death, and that the reason no one knows who her mother is, is because she doesn’t have one anymore.

 

This becomes the most popular theory, the one that most agents accept, and as a result, the rumours die down.

 

* * *

 

There’s a seminar about undercover tactics -  a refresher course for agents of all levels should they wish to attend, run by Agent Coulson. While he’s explaining the importance of maintaining cover, Peggy is sitting by his feet, making quiet aeroplane noises as she plays with a tiny model of a quinjet. They’re all listening with rapt attention, until Agent Coulson suddenly pauses, his non expression morphing into a smile. No one really knows how to react, except Peggy, who has ditched her toy and is making a run for it, dashing straight through the empty middle aisle, her pigtails flying behind her.

 

They all turn to see where she’s escaping to, and find her leaping into the arms of a female agent, one who some of the more senior agents recognise.

 

Melinda May. Renowned S.H.I.E.L.D. Specialist. _The Cavalry._

 

“Mommy!”

 

None of them can take their eyes off them, all interest in the seminar completely lost as they watch the little family interact.

 

* * *

 

Melinda ignores the stares of the slack jawed agents around her, concentrating only on her little girl, and Phil, who she can feel watching them, observing them.

 

She listens and smiles as Peggy babbles away in her arms, resting her chin on top of her little head and holding her as close as possible.

 

Three weeks away was too long; she missed them both terribly.

 

“Agent May.”

 

She smirks as Phil addresses her, increasing her pace a little until she is by his side.

 

“Agent Coulson,” she responds, rolling her eyes at their little game.

 

He reaches out to draw her a little closer, and Peggy is perfectly content to be in the middle of her parent’s embrace, the sounds of their voices slowly lulling her into a gentle slumber. Melinda adjusts her grip so that she’s holding Peggy in one arm, her other hand moving to rest against Phil’s shoulder as he runs a gentle finger over the cut on her forehead.

 

“I would've patched you up better,” he tells her and she only smiles.

 

“I’ll take her and let her have a proper nap. You off after this?”

 

He nods and she moves her fingers to trace the edge of his jaw, her thumb running over the slight stubble.

 

“I'll see you at home then.”

 

She moves to grab Peggy’s things, before exiting the same way she had entered, and as soon as the door closes silently behind her, Agent Coulson is back in his lecturing mode.

 

When they reach the end of the session and he offers them the opportunity to ask questions, the only ones anyone can think of have nothing to do with undercover operations, and everything to do with his personal life.

 

* * *

 

“Looks like the cat's out of the bag now,” Phil comments later that evening when they're lying in bed together. She’s curled up around him, her head against his shoulder, her hair fanned out over their pillows, her hand resting over his heart and one leg hooked over his hip.

 

“It was never really a secret,” she responds, yawning softly just moments later and pressing herself closer to him. “Just goes to show how unobservant some of those agents are.”

 

He hums in agreement, hand moving up and down her back, fingers dancing against her bare skin. He knows how impossible it seems to some people, being in their line of work and still having a life outside of it. There are compromises and sacrifices, but at the end of the day, they're happy, and that's the most important thing.

 

He thinks that maybe he should run a seminar about how to have a life outside S.H.I.E.L.D. - how to find the balance between dedication to their agency, and devotion to their families. He might even tell the tale of how he fell in love with his partner, the hardships they conquered both together and apart, and how the risk he took in telling her how he felt was the best decision he had ever made.

 

There's every possibility that she’d probably murder him for it.

 

He watches her doze off beside him, lips turned up in a small smile, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead, letting his lips linger there.

 

He’ll tell someone, someday.

 

A story as great as theirs deserves to be shared.


End file.
